Top Science News

December 12, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Reveal the Real Benefits and Hidden Risks of Medical Cannabis

Dec. 12, 2025 A sweeping review of more than 2,500 studies reveals that despite booming public enthusiasm, cannabis has strong scientific support for only a few medical uses, leaving most popular claims—like relief for chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia—on ...

Scientists Find Dark Chocolate Ingredient That Slows Aging

Dec. 12, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between dark chocolate and slower aging. A natural cocoa compound called theobromine was found in higher levels among people who appeared biologically younger than their real ...

Ghost Particles Slip Through Earth and Spark a Hidden Atomic Reaction

Dec. 12, 2025 Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint flashes of light separated by several minutes, ...

A Nearby Earth-size Planet Just Got Much More Mysterious

Dec. 12, 2025 TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized world in the system’s habitable zone, is drawing scientific attention as researchers hunt for signs of an atmosphere—and potentially life-supporting conditions. Early James Webb observations hint at methane, but the ...

A Silent Ocean Pandemic Is Wiping Out Sea Urchins Worldwide

Dec. 12, 2025 A sudden, unexplained mass die-off is decimating sea urchins around the world, including catastrophic losses in the Canary Islands. Key reef-grazing species are reaching historic lows, and their ability to reproduce has nearly halted in some ...

New Fossils in Qatar Reveal a Tiny Sea Cow Hidden for 21 Million Years

Dec. 12, 2025 Fossils from Qatar have revealed a small, newly identified sea cow species that lived in the Arabian Gulf more than 20 million years ago. The site contains the densest known collection of fossil sea cow bones, showing that these animals once thrived ...

Nerve Injuries Can Trigger Hidden Immune Changes Throughout the Entire Body

Dec. 11, 2025 Researchers discovered that nerve injuries can alter the immune system throughout the body, and males and females react very differently. Male mice showed strong inflammatory responses, while females showed none, yet both transmitted pain-inducing ...

NAD+ Supplement Shows Early Promise for Long COVID Fatigue and Brain Fog

Dec. 11, 2025 Long COVID still affects people worldwide with stubborn symptoms like fatigue and cognitive issues. A clinical trial tested whether boosting NAD+ using nicotinamide riboside could help. Although overall group differences were limited, many ...

Scientists Find a Massive Hidden CO2 Sponge Beneath the Ocean Floor

Dec. 11, 2025 Researchers found that eroded lava rubble beneath the South Atlantic can trap enormous amounts of CO2 for tens of millions of years. These porous breccia deposits store far more carbon than previously sampled ocean crust. The discovery reshapes how ...

Stressed Rats Keep Returning to Cannabis and Scientists Know Why

Dec. 11, 2025 Rats with naturally high stress levels were far more likely to self-administer cannabis when given access. Behavioral testing showed that baseline stress hormones were the strongest predictor of cannabis-seeking behavior. Lower cognitive flexibility ...

Even Moderate Drinking Carries a Bigger Cancer Risk Than You Think

Dec. 11, 2025 Researchers found that both how often and how much someone drinks significantly shape their cancer risk, even at moderate levels. Vulnerability varies across groups, with genetics, socioeconomic status, obesity, and lifestyle behaviors amplifying ...

Scientists Uncover a Hidden Protein Behind Deadly Mystery Diseases

Dec. 11, 2025 Scientists discovered that the protein RPA plays a critical and previously unconfirmed role in stimulating telomerase to maintain long, healthy telomeres. When RPA malfunctions, telomeres can shorten dangerously, leading to serious ...

Latest Headlines

updated 8:17am EST

These Bald Eagles Fly the Wrong Way Every Year and Stun Scientists

Dec. 11, 2025 Scientists tracking young Arizona Bald Eagles found that many migrate north during summer and fall, bucking the traditional southbound pattern of most birds. Their routes rely heavily on historic ...

New Research Uncovers a Surprisingly Cheap Way to Farm Kelp Offshore

Dec. 11, 2025 A new economic modeling tool is helping Maine kelp farmers identify cost-saving strategies with remarkable precision. By analyzing farm design, weather, vessel types, and processing methods, it ...

Paper Mill Waste Could Unlock Cheaper Clean Energy

Dec. 11, 2025 Scientists developed a high-performance hydrogen-production catalyst using lignin, a common waste product from paper and biorefinery processes. The nickel–iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in ...

Researchers Catch Atoms Standing Still Inside Molten Metal

Dec. 11, 2025 Scientists have uncovered that some atoms in liquids don't move at all—even at extreme temperatures—and these anchored atoms dramatically alter the way materials freeze. Using advanced electron ...

This 15 Minute Hepatitis C Test Could Change Everything

Dec. 11, 2025 Northwestern scientists have created the fastest-ever hepatitis C diagnostic, delivering accurate results in only 15 minutes. The test uses the DASH rapid PCR system, originally developed for COVID, ...

Scientists Uncover the Hidden Survival Trick That Lets Cancer Bounce Back

Dec. 10, 2025 Scientists discovered that certain cancer cells use a low-level activation of a DNA-dismantling enzyme—normally seen in cell death—to survive treatment. Instead of dying, these “persister ...

New Research Reveals How Everyday Cues Secretly Shape Your Habits

Dec. 10, 2025 Researchers uncovered how shifting levels of a brain protein called KCC2 can reshape the way cues become linked with rewards, sometimes making habits form more quickly or more powerfully than ...

Blood Tests Reveal Obesity Rapidly Accelerates Alzheimer’s Progression

Dec. 10, 2025 Obesity accelerates the rise of Alzheimer’s-related blood biomarkers far more rapidly than previously recognized. Long-term imaging and plasma data show that obese individuals experience much ...

The Deep Ocean Is Fixing Carbon in Ways No One Expected

Dec. 10, 2025 Researchers have uncovered surprising evidence that the deep ocean’s carbon-fixing engine works very differently than long assumed. While ammonia-oxidizing archaea were thought to dominate carbon ...

Uranus and Neptune Are Hiding Something Big Beneath the Blue

Dec. 10, 2025 Uranus and Neptune may not be the icy worlds we’ve long imagined. A new Swiss-led study uses innovative hybrid modeling to reveal that these planets could just as easily be dominated by rock as by ...

Astronomers Capture Sudden Black Hole Blast Firing Ultra Fast Winds

Dec. 9, 2025 A sudden X-ray flare from a supermassive black hole in galaxy NGC 3783 triggered ultra-fast winds racing outward at a fifth the speed of light—an event never witnessed before. Using XMM-Newton and ...

Rising Temperatures Are Slowing Early Childhood Development

Dec. 10, 2025 Researchers discovered that unusually high temperatures can hinder early childhood development. Children living in hotter conditions were less likely to reach key learning milestones, especially in ...

Scientists Reveal a Tiny Brain Chip That Streams Thoughts in Real Time

Dec. 9, 2025 BISC is an ultra-thin neural implant that creates a high-bandwidth wireless link between the brain and computers. Its tiny single-chip design packs tens of thousands of electrodes and supports ...

This Surprising Discovery Rewrites the Milky Way’s Origin Story

Dec. 9, 2025 New simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies reveal that the strange split between two chemically distinct groups of stars may arise from several very different evolutionary events. Bursts of star ...

Gut Molecule Shows Remarkable Anti-Diabetes Power

Dec. 8, 2025 Researchers revealed that the microbial metabolite TMA can directly block the immune protein IRAK4, reducing inflammation and improving insulin sensitivity. The molecule counteracts damage caused by ...

This Tiny Implant Sends Secret Messages to the Brain

Dec. 8, 2025 Researchers have built a fully implantable device that sends light-based messages directly to the brain. Mice learned to interpret these artificial patterns as meaningful signals, even without touch, ...

New Cosmic Lens Measurements Deepen the Hubble Tension Mystery

Dec. 9, 2025 Scientists are testing a novel way to measure cosmic expansion using time delays in gravitationally lensed quasars. Their results match “local” measurements but clash with early-universe ...

Single Enzyme Mutation Reveals a Hidden Trigger in Dementia

Dec. 9, 2025 Researchers discovered that a tiny structural feature of the enzyme GPX4 helps keep neurons safe. A rare mutation removes this protection, allowing harmful molecules to damage cell membranes and ...

This Rare Bone Finally Settles the Nanotyrannus Mystery

Dec. 9, 2025 Scientists have confirmed that Nanotyrannus was a mature species, not a young T. rex. A microscopic look at its hyoid bone provided the key evidence, matching growth signals seen in known T. rex ...

Scientists Capture Most Detailed Look Inside DNA Droplets

Dec. 8, 2025 High-resolution imaging has revealed the internal layout of chromatin condensates, showing how DNA fibers fold and interact within these droplet-like structures. The findings connect molecular ...

Scientists Uncover a Volcanic Trigger Behind the Black Death

Dec. 8, 2025 A newly analyzed set of climate data points to a major volcanic eruption that may have played a key role in the Black Death’s arrival. Cooling and crop failures across Europe pushed Italian states ...

A Violent Star Explosion Just Revealed a Hidden Recipe for Life

Dec. 8, 2025 XRISM’s high-precision X-ray data revealed unusually strong signatures of chlorine and potassium inside the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. These levels are far higher than theoretical models ...

Hornet-Eating Frog Shows Remarkable Venom Resistance

Dec. 4, 2025 Experiments reveal that pond frogs can eat highly venomous hornets without suffering noticeable damage, even after repeated stings. Most frogs successfully consumed hornets, including the notorious ...

Scientists Capture Flu Viruses Surfing Into Human Cells in Real Time

Dec. 4, 2025 Scientists have captured a never-before-seen, high-resolution look at influenza’s stealthy invasion of human cells, revealing that the cells aren’t just helpless victims. Using a groundbreaking ...

Earth’s Early Oceans Hid the Secret Rise of Complex Life

Dec. 6, 2025 Scientists have discovered that complex life began evolving much earlier than traditional models suggested. Using an expanded molecular clock approach, the team showed that crucial cellular features ...

Scientists Find Hidden Layers in Brain’s Memory Center

Dec. 6, 2025 Scientists uncovered a surprising four-layer structure hidden inside the hippocampal CA1 region, one of the brain’s major centers for memory, navigation, and emotion. Using advanced RNA imaging ...

SPHERE’s Stunning Space Images Reveal Where New Planets Are Forming

Dec. 6, 2025 SPHERE’s detailed images of dusty rings around young stars offer a rare glimpse into the hidden machinery of planet formation. These bright arcs and faint clouds reveal where tiny planet-building ...

Experimental RNA Treatment Shows Surprising DNA Repair Power

Dec. 5, 2025 Cedars-Sinai scientists have created a new experimental drug called TY1 that helps the body repair damaged DNA and restore injured tissue. The discovery came from studying tiny molecular messages ...

Alzheimer’s Blood Tests May Be Misleading for People With Kidney Problems

Dec. 5, 2025 A large study found that people with impaired kidneys tend to have higher Alzheimer’s biomarkers, yet they don’t face a higher overall risk of dementia. For those who already have elevated ...

Human Brains Light Up for Chimp Voices in a Way No One Expected

Dec. 10, 2025 Humans don’t just recognize each other’s voices—our brains also light up for the calls of chimpanzees, hinting at ancient communication roots shared with our closest primate relatives. ...